The sudden sound of something downstairs rattled up through the floorboards once again. With a sharp "eep!" Fluttershy jumped up, her bed sheets flying. Apparently lying down, closing her eyes tightly, hugging the covers even tighter and pretending she could hear nothing didn't solve the problem. Neither did it negate the fact that her ears were telling her the sounds were very real. She looked about, but in the gloom of her room, nothing appeared out of the ordinary. Then silence fell once more and her ears stood tall, shivering as much as the rest of her as she listened intently.
Several seconds passed, then several more, still nothing. She let out a small sigh, pressing a hoof to her chest lightly.
"See, Fluttershy. It is all in your head, there's absolutely nopony down–" Her soft words were cut off by a loud crash, and she jumped almost as high as the ceiling.
Fortunately, her wings instinctively caught her before she plummeted back into the bed, yet as she hovered the strange noises persisted. She looked about some more, and her eyes settled on a small basket beside her bed that contained a tiny, white rabbit.
"Angel, I think there's something downstairs," she said weakly, yet her soft tone succeeded only in making the rabbit roll over and curl up tighter in his bed.
She looked back to the stairs, raising a hoof to her mouth, biting it with her chattering teeth. There was another light clatter and finally, she straightened or at least best she could, before tentatively making her way towards the stairs.
If nopony else was going down there then she guessed she'd have to do it. That didn't stop her heart from hammering, and before heading down she made sure to assess exactly what she was getting herself into. The sounds had come from the kitchen, she was pretty sure about that. That meant she could approach from the living room and had at least three windows to fly out of should she have to.
She contemplated simply flying away anyway. She could leave and come back with somepony who knew what they were doing. Twilight or maybe Rainbow Dash, she knew her best friend wouldn't have even thought twice before racing down if this were her house. Moments later another clatter shook her mind back to reality, her shivering intensifying. Of course, she could just go back to bed and hide. But she couldn't just leave whatever it was down there. All of her animals friends were still sleeping and it could be some kind of dangerous creature from the forest!
That idea didn't really help, in fact, it mane her limbs become even more rigid as she shivered. Yet she couldn't allow anything that could potentially hurt any of her friends just stay in her home. As those thoughts crossed her mind, the sounds fell silent again and she swallowed her fear. As Fluttershy crept down, each squeaking hoofstep on the floorboards made her wince and the urge to simply fly away as fast as her wings could carry her became almost too much to bear. That didn't change as she slowly made her way across the living room, and up to the kitchen door.
She made sure to keep a wary eye upon every possible exit, before carefully pressing a hoof to the door and pushing it open. There was no noise from beyond, and the lack of such made her wonder if she had simply imagined it. A slight shuffle put those thoughts back to bed immediately. Yet there was no running now, and the moment the door opened her eyes darted about the room to see... Nothing.
Darkness covered most of the scene, the only light was that of the moon streaming in through the window. The only movement came from a shadow cast by the curtains as they swayed in the breeze. Fluttershy let out another small sigh.
"See Fluttershy just your..." she began, then paused.
Were the curtains moving?
Realizing the window was indeed wide open, she gulped, then frantically looked about again for anything else she may have missed. Even so, her eyes still failed to pick out anything in the darkness. Carefully, she took a step forwards, safe in the knowledge that if anything was here she could make straight for the open window.
Then again, whatever it may have been could have already left, and at that, she dashed over to the opening and peered out into the night. This time she saw nothing but her yard. Turning back, she gave the kitchen one last look over. When her eyes yet again assured her there was nothing there, she pulled the window closed. She didn't want whatever it was coming back in after all.
Taking another deep breath, she finally collected herself. Her shivering stopped and her racing heart rate returned to normal. Before long, she was ready to return to bed, then she saw something in the gloom.
At first, they looked like two smooth, white plates levitating in the darkness. Then a dark green flash within each of them and a pair of sharp, slited pupils narrowed. Fluttershy's whole body froze like ice, her breath starting to race after only seconds of reprieve. They were eyes, strange, un-pony-like eyes, and they seemed to lock onto her with a ravenous hunger akin to that of a dragon. A dark shape, distinguishable as nothing more than a dull blob within the darkness, shifted behind them. Finally, two specks of glistening white flashed below each eye, and she felt her heart almost stop.
"Hello... I'm..."
Without thought, Fluttershy jumped up. She screamed, before becoming naught but a yellow and pink blur as she shot into her living room and took cover behind the sofa. From here she could make it to any of her escape windows quickly, not to mention the door. Even so, there was something inside her telling her not to simply run, not immediately.
That nagging sensation was swiftly beginning to fade, however, especially as she peered over the rim of her cover and saw into the kitchen. There was another shuffling within, then those green eyes appeared in the doorway. Fluttershy gasped, jumped up and locked eyes with the closest window.
"Wait!" a small voice called, one almost as frail as her own.
It struggled to make itself heard over her own frightened exertions. Yet as it met her ears, Fluttershy’s momentum slowed to a hover and before she could reach the window she glanced back.
Standing there, in the moonlight, was a pony. A filly to be precise. Her coat was an incredibly dark blue, almost black. Her mane and tail were an equally dark purple. Her eyes were that same green, yet looked far softer now the rest of her was visible. Then she saw the glinting points in her muzzle and, cocking her head, made out a set of dark wings folded at her side. Not a pony, she was a bat pony.
"I... I, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," the filly stuttered, digging at the floorboards with a forehoof.
Fluttershy felt a shudder of fright run through her. She'd heard stories of bat ponies. Night hunters that stalked other ponies through the darkness to steal their blood. She'd seen some on Nightmare Night. Admittedly, it had only been a fleeting glance from the safety of her cottage, but even then they were unmistakable. There was another experience too, but that was far more personal than most, or at least the parts she could recall were.
Slowly she descended, but as her hooves touched the floor she could see she was not the only one who seemed to feel terrified.
"Urm... Hello," she squeaked, hoping the darkness would hide some of the unease upon her face.
Evidently, it did not because the filly tilted her head, one eyebrow raising.
"Wait.... That's it, you're.... You're not mad?" she asked weakly.
Slowly, Fluttershy's thoughts began to break free of the ice her fear had locked them within. There was a bat pony in her house. A filly who had snuck into her kitchen and made enough noise to wake her up. Now that filly was surprised she wasn't mad?
"No, I'm not mad. But I would like to know what you were doing in my house, if that’s okay?" she asked, a small amount of assertiveness managing to break the last of her icy fright, even if a part of her was still warily waiting for the filly to jump up and bite her neck.
Instead, the bat pony fell back towards the shadows, as if to disappear again. There were a hundred things in her mind telling her to just run right now and not to even consider trusting this pony whose house she'd invaded.
"I... I saw the animals outside, and thought that there might be some food," she muttered timidly, instinctively putting on a wide-eyed expression.
Even so, that innocent look was completely undermined by the fact the filly seemed to know she was in the wrong.
Fluttershy glanced at her and the kitchen in confusion.
"You were trying to steal food?" she asked, and the filly looked just as likely to take off though a window as Fluttershy had been only moments ago.
"I... I'm, sorry I... It's just, I haven't eaten in days and...." she stammered, looking down at the floor.
Fluttershy placed a hoof forwards, and the filly marked it with a quivering stare. Seeing her reaction, Fluttershy recoiled quickly. It was strange having to do such a thing, not because of her own fears, but because of another's.
"Oh my, I'm sorry. And no, I'm not mad. You just really frightened me that's all," she responded swiftly.
The smaller pony looked between her and the windows uneasily, only one action away for letting her instinct overcome her and force her to bolt as fast as she could. Meanwhile, Fluttershy took another deep breath, then held out a forehoof welcomingly.
"Oh, where are my manners? Hello, my name's Fluttershy," she offered kindly, slightly pleased with herself for the clear introduction.
The bat pony watched her outstretched hoof like it was kind of some dangerous stinger before, against what Fluttershy could only guess were all of her better judgments, she shuffled forwards. If there was one thing Fluttershy knew how to do, it was how to calm something down when they were frightened. She was used to animals mostly, and while she knew foals were quite different, this situation didn't seem too far flung.
"Moonlight Radiance, but everypony I know just calls me Moonlight, at least they used to," the filly responded nervously, slowly creeping further from the shadows.
Fluttershy nodded, internally praising herself for the success. Yet Moonlight's fear seemed to waver as her head sank again.
"Pleased to meet you, Moonlight. That's a lovely name by the way," Fluttershy told her kindly, setting her hoof back down.
Moonlight nodded weakly, her attention appearing lost elsewhere.
Her expression turned to slight concern, yet something the filly had said took precedence in her mind.
"So, you said you were hungry?" she asked, slowly moving closer.
When Moonlight failed to flee she assumed she could pass her and enter the kitchen without incident.
"What is it you ponies eat?" she asked, secretly begging she didn't mention anything about pony blood.
At the mention of food, Moonlight looked up sharply, fluffy ears perking. In the same instant, Fluttershy caught a glimpse of those glinting fangs and they made the pegasus shiver a little.
"Do you have any fruit? Apples are my favorite!" she exclaimed eagerly, all previous things seemingly forgotten.
'She must really be hungry' Fluttershy thought to herself.
Then the mention of apples made her laugh slightly. Bat ponies and apples? Maybe it was just her, or maybe she and Moonlight had more in common than an initial fear of one another.
"Of course, I have plenty of fruit, and apples," Fluttershy assured her, trotting into the kitchen.
This time she lit the room with candles, then flew up to a locked cupboard on the far side.
"I keep most of it hidden away, otherwise my animal friends would just eat it all at once," she explained, and Moonlight glanced in from the door.
"Animal friends?" she asked as Fluttershy pulled a basket of fruit from the cupboard, making sure to be extra generous with the apples.
"Oh yes, I don't know where I'd be without them. I don't know where I'd be without any of my friends, to be honest," she responded, thinking of one particular exception still sleeping upstairs.
"It sounds nice... Wish I knew other ponies like that," Moonlight muttered, her head sinking again.
Fluttershy felt a strange sympathy for the filly, recalling a time before she'd met her friends. Back then, it had only been her and her animals. Occasionally Rainbow Dash too, but she'd lived in Ponyville long before her foalhood friend had become the town's weather pony. At the thought, she swiftly finished gathering the fruit, hoping hunger would help the filly forget some of her troubles, at least long enough for her to help with them.
As expected, Moonlight's eyes gleamed like the moon when she saw the bounty in the basket, and her little bat wings began to flutter happily.
"All this for me, really?" she asked eagerly, seemingly battling the urge to snatch the food from the pegasus.
Fluttershy smiled, setting down the fruit filled basket on the floor before her.
"Of course, I still have plenty more." She assured her, mentally making a note to get more than usual next time she went down to the market.
Moonlight looked down at the food as if struggling to believe that it was real, then she jumped onto it with more ferocity than a manticore. Fluttershy let out another slight laugh, more grateful than ever that those fangs didn't seem to be for drinking blood. All the while she tried not to think about her own fruit related misfortunes.
"So, urm... Moonlight, what were you doing here?" she asked as casually as she could, rubbing her hooves nervously as she cleared her head.
Instantly, the filly looked up, an orange slipping from her muzzle as a guilty look formed upon her face. Almost immediately, Fluttershy recognized how that may have sounded and waved her hooves dismissively.
"Sorry, I didn't mean about the food, and I'm not angry... I'm just, oh..." She put a hoof over her mouth to cease her rambling, then took a breath. "I'm just curious, and slightly worried. A filly like you shouldn't be out all alone, especially at night."
Moonlight's look turned slightly skeptical at that last part, then she flexed her leathery wings and Fluttershy mentally face hoofed.
"I'm ten, that's plenty old enough! At least, everypony else seems to think so... And I'm alone because..." she began, her words starting strong as if her pride were on the line.
Yet as she went on they devolved into frail murmurs, before trailing off completely. Fluttershy opened her muzzle to stammer another apology, but before she could Moonlight looked up at her, eyes watering slightly.
"You see I don't have anypony else, the places bat ponies like me live, deep in the forest of the mountains, they're dangerous. This one time there was a storm and a landslide swept me away into a river and... Well, I've been all alone ever since," she confessed bluntly, then began to cry.
Her fruit was all but forgotten as the rest of it slipped from her hooves, and Fluttershy almost instinctively rushed down to comfort the filly, then hesitated. Moments ago she'd been wary of no more than a simple hoofstep, maybe getting too close was not the best idea right now. Still, the more Fluttershy thought about it, the more it did start making sense. She'd often had food go missing but she'd just assumed it was just one of her critters getting hungry in the night. She'd never once assumed that some abandoned pony may have been sneaking into her house because they had no other means of feeding themselves. Furthermore, the fact that nopony had even come looking for the filly was troubling. Then again she had no idea how batpony society worked or just how far Moonlight had been carried and wandered from where she's been separated.
That idea made her heart ache more than ever, and she felt guilty for not realizing that this might have been the case sooner. She could even recall other ponies around Ponyville going on about missing food once or twice while she'd been quietly lingering in the background hoping none of them would notice her. Being reclusive and shy often did come with the advantage of catching wind of certain discussions, and while she hated the idea of eavesdropping, right now she was glad she could formulate some idea as to how long Moonlight had been alone.
"Oh my, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you... I was just worried." She said kindly, and after a few moments, Moonlight's sobbing ceased.
"Nopony I've come across since then... None of them have even spoken to me. Weeks of hiding, taking what I can. You're the first pony to even ask me my name," she muttered, her voice becoming dry as she stared down at the fruit.
Yet with her starvation temporarily quelled, the food provided very little in the way of a distraction. Fluttershy was forced to think, then gathered her thoughts again.
"You can't have met many decent ponies then," she said with a weak smile, thinking about how ponies sometimes treated her because of her reclusiveness and shy nature.
Moonlight sniffed, wiping her muzzle with a forehoof.
"No, guess not. I know the only reason why is because I'm a bat pony. I know how others see ponies like me," she muttered emptily. "None of it's true!" she added, her voice growing momentarily firm.
"I don't think it is," Fluttershy said abruptly.
Moonlight glanced back at her, sad eyes begging that those words weren't some kind of cruel joke. But Fluttershy hoped nothing in her honest expression suggested as much. Yet that inability to trust other ponies, that instinct that had been keeping her alive all this time she'd been alone was making it difficult not to see Fluttershy as just another pony who may be afraid of her.
"I've had my fair share of experiences with bat ponies," Fluttershy added, giving another weak, little smile.
Moonlight's face scrunched up slightly, eyebrow raising and Fluttershy's smile shifted as she raised a hoof to her mouth, pointing out one sharp oddity in her teeth.
"It's a long story," she laughed.
Yet as Fluttershy contemplated the similarities between herself and the filly, Moonlight picked up a piece of apple, one that was particularly strange.
"These ones are from the forest aren't they, the Everfree Forest?" she asked, and Fluttershy nodded.
"I get most of them from my friend Applejack, but sometimes critters bring them to me from the forest," she explained.
Moonlight rolled the piece of fruit in her forehooves, then sighed.
"My mom used to give me apples like these before we were separated," she admitted emptily, as still a small part of her suggested that Fluttershy may have just set this up to be as cruel as every other pony.
"Oh, I'm... I'm sorry... I didn't know," Fluttershy stammered as if the presence of the apples were insulting to her guest.
Moonlight just continued to stare down at the apple, and a new fear blossomed in Fluttershy's chest. It was different, not like that which could be conjured by some fearsome monster or fire breathing dragon. It was a deep dread summoned up by the fact that a filly, one no older than those she knew around Ponyville, had been left all alone.
"They were always my favorite," Moonlight went on, almost testing how Fluttershy would respond even if she really did want to trust the pegasus, but she had not lasted this long by trusting ponies.
Then she let the pieces slip from her hooves and stood.
"Thanks, Fluttershy, thanks for listening and..."
She looked down at the basket, wiping her muzzle as she sniffed. Her expression looked as empty as a starless night, then she began towards the door.
It took Fluttershy a long moment to break out of her emotional stupor, then she shook her head.
"Moonlight wait! " she called, holding out a hoof.
The filly paused, glancing back. It was clear from her quivering expression she was holding back tears.
"Where are you going?" Fluttershy asked, even though she had many ideas as to the answer.
"What do you mean? I have to go find somewhere to sleep before dawn," Moonlight responded as if the pegasus should know.
Fluttershy tensed, thinking deeply about what her mind was suggesting, then her look softened. How many animals had she saved over the years, how many had she spared the harshness of the world? Was this really any different?
"You shouldn't have to," she declared, and Moonlight had a good idea where this was going, even if her mind was still telling her not to be so trusting.
"What... What do you mean?" she asked, her green eyes shifting as things seemed to spin inside her mind.
"I mean, you shouldn't have to go wandering around out there alone... You could stay here. Or you could come back for food tomorrow night... I mean, if you wanted to, " Fluttershy offered kindly, even though she suspected Moonlight may have come back to steal food tomorrow night either way.
Still, despite all of the stubborn feelings inside her, telling her not to be so naive, the thought of a home and a loving pony to watch over her again was too much to ignore. Moonlight's eyes widened, and those green spheres Fluttershy had been so afraid of not long ago, now looked at her with a different glow to them.
"You mean... I can..." she stammered.
"Of course, I have all sorts of animals. You may be a little different, but I'd never abandon any poor squirrel or bird who'd been through what you have. Not while I could help," she stated, her voice growing slightly firm.
Yet it was far from the monstrous assertiveness she'd once harbored. It was a kind and welcoming determination, backed up by very real emotions. Emotions that didn't think it was right to simply let Moonlight leave. The bat pony, looked down at her hooves, then at the door and finally at Fluttershy, and tried her absolute hardest to settle her fears and take a chance.
"Are you saying I can... I... I don't know what to say... " she exclaimed.
"Don't worry, I know how that feels," Fluttershy added, with an understanding laugh.
At that, she noticed those sharp fangs didn't look so scary all of a sudden. Tentatively, she reached out a hoof and once again, and Moonlight looked at it cautiously. Then she swallowed her fear once and for all and hugged the Fluttershy's forelegs tightly. Fluttershy tensed, taken slightly by surprise. Yet this time she relaxed quickly, wrapping her hoof over the filly's back in return.
"I didn't think anypony would ever care about me again. Thank you... Thank you so much!" Moonlight told her happily.
Fluttershy looked down, blushing slightly.
"Now, don't be silly. There's always somepony who cares about you," she assured her kindly, then smiled.
"Besides, I think we've both got something in common," she finally admitted, a small laugh escaping her muzzle.
.
